Qatar Airways posts $69 million annual loss!

• The airline carried 29.2 million passengers in the year to March 31, down from 32 million a year earlier.

Qatar Airways reported on Tuesday a 252 million riyals ($69 million) loss for the financial year ending March 31, citing a regional dispute that has seen it banned from four Arab countries.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain have banned Qatar Airways since June 2017 as part of a dispute they have with the government of Qatar.

"This turbulent year has inevitably had an impact on our financial results," Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said in a statement.The airline said it carried 29.2 million passengers in the year to March 31, down from 32 million a year earlier.

Qatar Airways lost access to 18 cities in the fall-out from the dispute. It has also had to increase costs and operate longer flights on some routes.

Qatar Airways had warned in recent months that it would report a loss and since said it could make a loss again this year and potentially need to tap its owner, the government of Qatar, for a capital injection.